The President of Muslim Youth Association, Md. Amir Rashid has demanded Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour in India for late freedom fighter, Veer Savarkar. Md. Amir has written a letter to the central government making this demand in express terms. He also released a poster regarding this. He has questioned why three generations of the Nehru-Gandhi family were bestowed the Bharat Ratna. Rashid added that Savarkar was the biggest revolutionary India ever produced but he has been denied any credit for his immense sacrifices due to ideological differences on the part of previous governments.
This demand to award Veer Savarkar with the Bharat Ratna has been made on occasion of 135th birth anniversary of the legendary leader. The Muslim Youth Association has argued that the previous Congress governments used to bestow the Bharat Ratna in a political manner and used to give it only to party slaves. Indeed, sycophancy was a major factor determining all major decisions that includes giving civilian honours. The Muslim body has exposed how the vested interests including leftist historians who had no role to play in the independence struggle have unfairly criticized Veer Savarkar. Remembering his sacrifices, Amir Rashid reiterated that Savarkar was feared by the British and was sent to the cellular jail in kala pani twice. He added that Madan Lal Dhingra, a well known revolutionary was inspired by Savarkar. Madan Lal Dhingra had assassinated Sir William Hutt Curzon Wylie, a British official in an attempt to initiate a revolution in the Indian Independence movement.
This demand by Muslim Youth Association is a welcome move. It shows how the Indian society has evolved to bust the myths propagated for ages by the sycophants of a particular family and the cabal protecting it. The so called “intellectuals” and the pseudo liberals have been attempting to malign Veer Savarkar among a plethora of such freedom fighters and revolutionaries but it seems that the ordinary citizens have called out their lie. Certain eminent historians and self proclaimed historians have constantly defamed Savarkar calling him a British stooge by concocting lies about him or manipulating past events. The cabal has been, for decades, alleging that Savarkar was a British stooge and wrote a mercy plea to be released from prison. However, the reality is that he had only signed a good conduct bond in order to fool the British (he was arrested again despite signing the bond because he continued his revolutionary activities). This great freedom fighter has never been given the place he deserved in the Indian history even though he inspired a number of revolutionaries including Baddy Chavan, Atmaram Nana Patil and V.B. Gogate. It was Savarkar who exhorted the youth to avenge the killing of Lala Lajpat Rai and the first thinker to call 1857 mutiny, India’s first freedom struggle. This work was banned by the British and it was Bhagat Singh who published Savarkar’s work in 1928. Not only this, Savarkar was also subjected to extreme form of torture while he was imprisoned. Savarkar was made to stand in handcuffs for 8 days dressed in jute coir sacks when he refused to do any work on 16th June 1914. This was increased to 4 months with a cross bar across his neck when he refused again. He faced such punishments for 22 times.
This demand by Muslim Youth Association shows that ordinary citizens respect those who spent their lives languishing in British jails and not those like Nehru who got VIP treatment while in prison and later on unleashed their sycophants to create an illusion. It is preposterous that someone who spent fighting the British and faced the worst form of torture is not given the Bharat Ratna and is even labeled a British stooge. On the other hand, those who received VIP treatment while in British jails have been hailed as legendary freedom fighters. This had to be exposed and it is heartening that this Muslim body is finally doing that.
